anything you can be. [robin]

[Caden Penelope Taylor]

[atrb=border,0,true][atrb=cellspacing,0,true][atrb=cellpadding,0, true][atrb=style, width: 440px; background: #F1BBBA; border-top: 9px solid #A79C8E; text-shadow: 0px 0px 2px white; font-family: georgia; color: #6B5344; text-align: center; letter-spacing: 2px;]caden penelope taylor ;; i can be greater

[atrb=style, width: 440px; background: #F8ECC9; border-left: 5px solid #F1BBBA; border-right: 5px solid #F1BBBA; border-bottom: 5px solid #F1BBBA; color: #271A09] Okay, so just show her to the barn. Caden could do that without exploding, easy. She would much rather be unpacking her stuff back up in the dorm, but that was because she had already spent four hours down here today anyway. Robin hadn't, and was probably curious about how her horses were doing. Before coming down Caden hadn't bothered to change, yet again, so it was still Sperry's, skinny jeans, and a thin, plaid, button-up shirt. Anything flannel was too hot to wear at this time of the year. "So, here's the barn of course." Caden looked up as she entered. "I dunno what stalls your horses are in, but mine are 12, 13, 14, and 15. They're in the middle and on the right." Caden walked toward her horses, Finn in particular. He nuzzled his top lip against her open palm before drawing his head back and stomping his foot. It was his way of begging. Caden sat on her low tack trunk, watching Robin curiously, but really wondering where Tobin was. Her best friend had texted her a couple of weeks ago saying that she was transferring to White Oak. Good. Caden couldn't wait to give her the latest dish on everything going on, but knew Toby would react the same way she always did. A slight head nod and a question about what brand fly spray was the most effective, or where she could find a snaffle bit with a copper roller. Caden rolled her eyes at the thought. Tobin would never understand the importance of a good reputation.

[atrb=style,background: #271A09; border-bottom: 14px solid #6B5344]

[atrb=style,font-family: arial; text-align: center]coding by just-breathe of caution 2.0

[cordelia robin evans]

Robin's eyes widened as they neared the barn. Sure she had seen pictures and even looked up the actual square footage of White Oak's main barn but it hadn't prepared her for seeing it in the least. The building was monstrous, and yet somehow inviting at the same time.

The sweet smell of fresh hay drifted towards her as she followed Caden through the big double doors. "Um, 16 and 17 I think." Robin paused to watch the blond girl interact with her horse but as soon as Caden stepped away from the gelding she nearly sprinted past the four stalls to her horses.

Batman was in 16, napping in his shavings. He already had a large brownish stain on his left side despite not having been turned out yet but that was to be expected. He huffed softly at her when she poked her head in but didn't show any interest in getting up so she moved on to Puck's stall.

Robin was not surprised in the least to find it empty. The door had been cleverly pushed shut behind him but the open latch and dirty hoof prints on the floor were a dead giveaway; her pony had been up to his tricks again. Robin whipped around to scan the aisle, her long ponytail flicking out behind her.

"Puck! Damn it pony, I do not want to be dealing with this right now!"

Even though she made sure to keep her voice low Robin could still project a fair ways. Batman, ever sensitive to the mood, scrambled up to poke his head out at her. She stepped back to stroke his neck reassuringly. "Shh, we'll find him Batty. He can't of gotten far."

Another quick scan of the barn showed her that she was right; prompted by her voice, a little bay face was peering around the corner of one of the empty stalls. Presumably Puck had decided to taste someone else's hay. Robin jogged quickly down to the little Mustang. He gave her shirt a good lick before she managed to grab his forelock so she was trying to wipe slobber off of her stomach with her sleeve while she led him back to his stall.

As soon as he was safely put away and his chain had been fixed Robin turned back to Caden. "That little prankster is Puck, my Mustang. Whoever put him away must have forgotten to do up the chain on his stall." The quirky little pony shoved his nose into her back as she spoke, asking for treats.

[Caden Penelope Taylor]

[atrb=border,0,true][atrb=cellspacing,0,true][atrb=cellpadding,0, true][atrb=style, width: 440px; background: #F1BBBA; border-top: 9px solid #A79C8E; text-shadow: 0px 0px 2px white; font-family: georgia; color: #6B5344; text-align: center; letter-spacing: 2px;]caden penelope taylor ;; i can be greater

[atrb=style, width: 440px; background: #F8ECC9; border-left: 5px solid #F1BBBA; border-right: 5px solid #F1BBBA; border-bottom: 5px solid #F1BBBA; color: #271A09] Caden felt a slight flutter of panic as Robin realized her horse wasn't where he was supposed to be. What if it was a stallion? The last thing Caden wanted was to have one of her prize mares pregnant. As Robin found him and tugged him toward his proper stall, Caden frowned. What happened to hanoverians, and oldenburgs? She was at a top-notch english riding school, everyone should have one. Not these mustangs, and appaloosas, and thoroughbreds she'd been seeing. Just no. "When I was five I had a welsh pony that did that. My dad zip-tied it shut." And everytime she had to get into the stall she had to cut it and get a new one, but it worked. The pony never got out again. "But anyway, that proves my theory on the grooms here. They don't know what they're doing." Caden stood and walked down to stall 15, Nico, and stroked his small white star. She looked down the aisle toward Robin, and then directly across. No way. A gorgeous light grey mare had her delicate head over the stall door. She was looking at Puck, probably curious about how he got out. That mare was never the most clever. That mare, that was Cheers! Caden could recognize her in an instant, and wondered if Robin did too. Some said Cheers was more famous than her rider, who was no other than Tobin Kelly. Tobin was here!

[atrb=style,background: #271A09; border-bottom: 14px solid #6B5344]

[atrb=style,font-family: arial; text-align: center]coding by just-breathe of caution 2.0

[cordelia robin evans]

Robin nodded emphatically. "I'll have to have a talk with them about him." She reached behind her to rub the pony's cheek, cracking a smile when he started licking her fingers. "I've had to put a sign on his door before but I was hoping at a high end place like this it wouldn't be necessary."

It was impossible to miss the look Caden was giving the pony. It was one Robin had grown very used to in her years showing Puck. The look said; 'what is this tiny, mutt thing doing here?'. Such a familiar expression on the face of someone like Caden Taylor made Robin laugh out loud. The stare and the question had long since ceased to offend her.

"You're probably wondering what a event rider is doing with a pony this size, but once you see Puck jump you'll understand." Or she would think Robin had drugged the pony somehow to improve his performance. She wouldn't be the first or the last, probably. People seemed to think that without a pedigree a horse was talentless. "Besides," She added, "He has sentimental value."

It took Robin a moment to realize that Caden had become distracted by the horse across from Puck. Robin followed her room mate's gaze to the grey who was watching Puck with obvious interest. Well, look at that. Another famous name to add to the list of people she would be meeting here; Shut Up and Smile, and her rider, Tobin Kelly.

[Caden Penelope Taylor]

[atrb=border,0,true][atrb=cellspacing,0,true][atrb=cellpadding,0, true][atrb=style, width: 440px; background: #F1BBBA; border-top: 9px solid #A79C8E; text-shadow: 0px 0px 2px white; font-family: georgia; color: #6B5344; text-align: center; letter-spacing: 2px;]caden penelope taylor ;; i can be greater

[atrb=style, width: 440px; background: #F8ECC9; border-left: 5px solid #F1BBBA; border-right: 5px solid #F1BBBA; border-bottom: 5px solid #F1BBBA; color: #271A09] Caden nodded. That would make the place look like they couldn't afford to pay knowledgeable grooms, which so far it didn't look like they did. Maybe Caden could get her driver, Ricardo, to apply for the job. He was incredibly smart about horses. Caden was sick of having to rewrap Lacey's tail every time she went out, that was something the grooms were responsible for. And making sure she didn't get caught in her bucket, and knowing the difference between laying down and colicing. Was her look that obvious? Sentimental value, right. Caden stifled a laugh, and looked over the pony one more time. She did believe that the pony could jump the moon, Tobin had a 14.2hh jumper that had that ability, but Mustangs weren't built to do it. In no way could that horse ever be a hunter. At least Kelso could do it with great form. Caden walked over to the grey mare and started stroking her. "This is my best friend's horse. You knew that Tobin Kelly pretty much lives with me, right?" Caden asked, keeping one hand on the grey's neck. RJ Kelly was deemed an unsuitable father, and Renee was usually in rehab. "Have you met anyone else yet?" Caden asked. She was just curious, since the only people she had met other than Robin were some horrid riders, and a couple of flirty boys.

[atrb=style,background: #271A09; border-bottom: 14px solid #6B5344]

[atrb=style,font-family: arial; text-align: center]coding by just-breathe of caution 2.0

[cordelia robin evans]

After giving Puck one last pat Robin crossed the aisle to stand on the other side of the gray's head, but further away than Caden. She didn't know the horse after all. Well, she knew of Shut Up and Smile, but it wasn't the same thing. She had never had the chance to see the mare up close.

Robin reached out her hand, encouraging the mare to sniff it. Of course, it probably smelled more like Puck than Robin at the moment, but that might be of more interest to Shut Up and Smile anyway.

A smile fluttered at the corners of her mouth as she watched the mare. There was something about the appearance of mares that appealed to Robin, even if she had never found one she enjoyed riding.

When she heard Caden's voice she snapped her gaze up. Though she only managed to catch the second sentence she got the feeling the first one wasn't all that important anyway. Robin didn't like gossip but there are some whispers that are so loud they're impossible to ignore. So she just shrugged and told the truth. "I'd heard rumors."

Sometimes Robin wished she had a friend that rode as competitively as she did. Sure she was friends with some of the kids that Claire taught, but none of them really showed. Certainly none of them could afford to come to White Oak. Robin was only here by courtesy of her father.

"No, I went straight up to drop my stuff off and ran into you." The mare seemed to be finished smelling her palm so Robin reached up and rubbed her hand lightly along the horse's neck. "How about you?"

[Caden Penelope Taylor]

[atrb=border,0,true][atrb=cellspacing,0,true][atrb=cellpadding,0, true][atrb=style, width: 440px; background: #F1BBBA; border-top: 9px solid #A79C8E; text-shadow: 0px 0px 2px white; font-family: georgia; color: #6B5344; text-align: center; letter-spacing: 2px;]caden penelope taylor ;; i can be greater

[atrb=style, width: 440px; background: #F8ECC9; border-left: 5px solid #F1BBBA; border-right: 5px solid #F1BBBA; border-bottom: 5px solid #F1BBBA; color: #271A09] "I'd heard rumors." Hmm, rumors about Caden, or rumors about Tobin? She didn't want to be nosy, but- yeah, she was nosy. "Like what?" She cocked an eyebrow and tilted her head to the side a little. Having a friend so different than her was difficult, but they'd arranged a decent little friendhip. Mostly involving Caden talking, and Toby pretending to listen. And they rode together, which was fun, and competitive. Everything with the two girls was a competition. Whoever could muck their stalls the quickest, who wasn't afraid to jump Kelso four feet, who's horse was the cleanest, and of course the most obvious, who won at the shows. For the past couple of years the slight age difference caused the girls to keep from showing against one another, but this year they were in all the same classes. Fun. "Let's see. I rode earlier with two girls that had no idea what they were doing, I was almost embarrassed to share a ring with them." Caden paused. "Then yesterday I was in the jumper ring with another girl, and she seemed decent." Caden looked up, thinking. "Oh, and the boys. I've met two and the only thing they want to do is- well, you know." Caden laughed, but she was dead serious. Flirts, that was what this school was made of.

[atrb=style,background: #271A09; border-bottom: 14px solid #6B5344]

[atrb=style,font-family: arial; text-align: center]coding by just-breathe of caution 2.0

[cordelia robin evans]

Robin had to force down the blush that threatened to flood her cheeks at the question. She hated talking about other people behind their backs. It made her feel petty and shallow. But this was Tobin's best friend asking. There was no harm in telling Caden what she'd heard ringside, was there?

"Well, you'd have to live under a rock not to have read about her parents." At least that was Robin's opinion. She listened to the news and read the newspaper so it came as no surprise to her to hear that Tobin Kelly was spending most of her time at Caden Taylor's mansion. She shrugged. "Other than that, people like to say nasty things about she and her sister both. Most of it is too petty to repeat."

She leaned closer to the gray mare, enjoying the mixed aroma of grain, hay, and clean horse. It made her feel better about repeating this stuff. "Some of the sore losers claim that she drugs Shut Up and Smile." Robin had never believe that rumor for a second. If the horse was drugged someone would have found out by now. And besides, drugging your horse was something no one actually did until the Olympics. "But people say the same about Puck and I, so..."

Robin shrugged again. The comment about the girls who didn't know how to ride prompted a raised eyebrow. "I thought this was an advanced riding school?" The question was only half rhetorical. Robin didn't know a whole lot about White Oak, just that it had a good history of turning out winners.

[Caden Penelope Taylor]

[atrb=border,0,true][atrb=cellspacing,0,true][atrb=cellpadding,0, true][atrb=style, width: 440px; background: #F1BBBA; border-top: 9px solid #A79C8E; text-shadow: 0px 0px 2px white; font-family: georgia; color: #6B5344; text-align: center; letter-spacing: 2px;]caden penelope taylor ;; i can be greater

[atrb=style, width: 440px; background: #F8ECC9; border-left: 5px solid #F1BBBA; border-right: 5px solid #F1BBBA; border-bottom: 5px solid #F1BBBA; color: #271A09] Ah, so rumors about Tobin. Her parents, yeah, they were easy to hear about. And even the best people in the world couldn't make excuses for their behavior. Caden had definitely heard things about Reese, but the things about Tobin were new to her. The cowards that held them were too scared to say them to Caden for fear of waking up the next morning and their car being keyed, or their horse safely dyed blue. If you say something bad about her family, her horses, her riding, or Tobin that's what you get. Drugging Cheers? Those rumors had been popular a while ago, when she won the Large Junior Hunters at Upperville by a landslide. Tobin had been furious and shoved the horse into a clinic where they tested her. Of course she came out negative, but some opinions weren't swayed. To Caden, rumors were made up when you were jealous of someone. Even with Toby's bad family life, they were jealous of her money, her horses, her ribbons, and of course that she was friends with the only shark in the sea, Caden. Robin trailed off, and picked back up with a question. Caden caught the rhetorical aspect, but answered anyway. "I thought so, these riders probably call themselves advanced. That's why I think you should have to try out to be able to ride here. Apply. It is a private school."

[atrb=style,background: #271A09; border-bottom: 14px solid #6B5344]

[atrb=style,font-family: arial; text-align: center]coding by just-breathe of caution 2.0

[cordelia robin evans]

Apply? Robin had done that already. Oh, for the riding aspect, right. It had taken her a moment to realize what the other girl meant. The purpose of a private school was to give the smartest, richest, and most athletic children a leg up on life. So of course an application was necessary.

But for riding? There was no way to get better if you didn't start somewhere. Not everyone was as lucky as Robin and Caden; to have parents who started them young and bankrolled the whole deal.

On the other hand, kids who didn't know what they were doing would just get in the way of the rest of them. It made more sense to Robin if you had to be a certain level to bring your own horse, or ride outside of lessons. But that was just her. So she just nodded in response.

A moment later a thought occurred to her; "Hah! I'd like to see them try to ride my horses. Or yours." The few times she had seen Caden Taylor ride, the blond had made the courses look easy. But Robin knew from experience that a horse with the talent to excel in the big leagues was not something to put a beginner on.

Actually, on second thought..."Well, except the part where they teach the horses bad manners. Or have rough hands. Batty would probably end up throwing anyone who pulled on him."

[Caden Penelope Taylor]

[atrb=border,0,true][atrb=cellspacing,0,true][atrb=cellpadding,0, true][atrb=style, width: 440px; background: #F1BBBA; border-top: 9px solid #A79C8E; text-shadow: 0px 0px 2px white; font-family: georgia; color: #6B5344; text-align: center; letter-spacing: 2px;]caden penelope taylor ;; i can be greater

[atrb=style, width: 440px; background: #F8ECC9; border-left: 5px solid #F1BBBA; border-right: 5px solid #F1BBBA; border-bottom: 5px solid #F1BBBA; color: #271A09] "That would make things very interesting. And as long as they aren't constantly on them, it would be okay, don't you think?" Caden remembered her mom telling her it took three weeks to form a habit and three to break it whenever she was still chewing her nails. She didn't know if it was the same for horses, but that was the backup information she had, so she was going to go with it. Caden thought about the point Robin had just made, about other people riding their horses. "We should do that one day, have everyone switch around. See how good your peers really are. Or aren't." She sat on Toby's tack trunk, tipping her head slightly off to the left. Cheers reached across the stall door to nip at the blond's ponytail. Caden grabbed her hair and spun in her spot, tapping the mare lightly on the nose. "Brat." She smiled, petting where she had tapped. Hm. What was that thing Caden had to turn in tomorrow? Y'know, the one that was assigned a week or two ago and never been touched? Oh right, her short story for English. Whatever, Caden was a creative person. She could come up with something! Maybe not the required thirty pages, but something! "Well, I'm going to go back up to the dorm to finish some paper, and-" what else had she been doing before? "Oh, right, and unpack. So you can make your way through the room without stepping on nice things." Caden kissed Cheers on the nose, waved by to Robin and walked out the barn door. That switchy thing sounded fun. Maybe Tobin would have an idea. /out. when do you wanna start the trial thread?

[atrb=style,background: #271A09; border-bottom: 14px solid #6B5344]

[atrb=style,font-family: arial; text-align: center]coding by just-breathe of caution 2.0